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40 Best Fall Dinners

June 10, 2024

These 40 Best Fall Dinners are sure to satisfy your craving for cozy weather comfort food and keep your whole family happy and well fed in the process.

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Mushroom Braised Beef

A Whole Season of Autumnal Meals to Celebrate Fall.

This compilation of “stay-in” dinners is our first ever round up entirely composed of The Modern Proper recipes! In light of that, do you think we’re officially allowed to call ourselves the “no need to look anywhere else weeknight dinner blog”?

We need to start off by letting you know that there are NO soups in this round-up. Yes, it’s true—as soon as the leaves turn, thoughts of soup nights begin to swirl in our heads. BUT, we’ve shared so many soup recipes over the years, that we actually have all of our soup recipes in one place—a 30 Best Soup Recipes post for all of our favorite soup recipes in one convenient place!

Enough about soup. This fall recipe round-up is full of hearty, family-friendly dinners to get you through the chilly months. Let’s start with that trusty old Crock-Pot.

slow cooker swimming rama served on top of white rice topped with crushed peanuts, basil and red chili flakes
bowl of pumpkin curry over rice with fresh cilantro and crushed cashews

Fall Dinners in the Crock-Pot.

Some people call it back-to-school season. We think of it as slow-cooker season.

If you’d like even more Crock-Pot inspiration, then be sure to check out our post for the 30 Best Slow-Cooker Recipes.

Italian Pot Roast in a bowl over polenta
mushroom and wine braised beef in a braiser

Because the Holidays Are Around the Corner

creamy Chicken Orzo Soup with carrots and celery in a bowl with a linen
one pot braised chicken and kale with white beans in a cast iron skillet

One-Pot Weeknight Wonders

Classic Baked Macaroni and Cheese
baked mushroom mac and cheese being scooped out of a braiser with a spoon

It Always Comes Back to Macaroni and Cheese.

Turkey Meatballs in a Creamy Red Curry Sauce
Meatball shakshukah with feta and parsley in a pan with pita bread

Meatballs + Fall Dinner = LOVE

  • Ever put a stick of butter in your spaghetti sauce? It might sound crazy, but make these Meatballs with Tomato Sauce and you’ll never go back.
  • Meatball Shakshuka? Take two things you love, put them together and you’ve got yourself one delicious dinner!
  • We believe that most things benefit from a dose of red curry past, and these Turkey Meatballs in a Creamy Red Curry Sauce are no exception. They’re a hit with everyone who tries them and this 40 Best Fall Dinners list wouldn’t be complete without them.
  • Baked Teriyaki Meatballs make for a great freezer meal and are perfect for busy weekday dinners.
Award winning chili in a bowl with avocado and 3 beans
Instant pot white bean chicken chili

Chili When it’s Chilly

One pot chicken and stuffing casserole
Fasolakia Greek Green Beans dish with potatoes and tomatoes in a bowl with a spoon and crusty bread

When You Only Have One Pan.

  • It doesn’t have to be Thanksgiving to have stuffing for dinner. This One Pot Chicken and Stuffing is oh, so cozy.
  • Have you ever heard of Fasolakia? These tomato-y Greek braised green beans are such a treat and a delicious way to get more veggies in your diet.
  • All it takes is one cast iron pan to make this Skillet Chicken Pot Pie and dinner clean up is a cinch.
Three ingredient tomato sauce in a bowl with a fork
Baked penna alla vodka with kale in a pan with melted mozzarella

Vegetarian Fall Dinners Everyone Will Love.

Osso Buco
bowl of instant pot beef ragu over pappardelle noodles topped with parmesan cheese

Our Favorite Beef Dinners to Serve in Fall.

  • If you ever get your hands on some glorious beef shanks, we highly recommend this indulgent Osso Buco.
  • Serve this Instant Pot Beef Ragu one of three delicious ways. Click the link to find out how!
  • This Roast Beef Red Curry in coconut milk is a real crowd pleaser.
Pecan Crusted Pork Chops With Apple Chutney
Pork Chops With Mushroom Cream Sauce in a pan with thyme and a spoon

If You Love a Cozy Fall Dinner Made with Pork, We’ve Got you Covered!

cast iron skillet with whole roasted chicken topped with butter and lemon pan sauce
One Pot Creamy Mediterranean Chicken Pasta in a pot with a serving spoon

Chicken Dinners are Always Winners.

Provençal chicken with olives, tomatoes, shallots, and white wine being scooped with a serving spoon
Paleo Shepherds Pie, whole 30 parsnip pie with a scoop taken out on a table

Healthy Fall Dinners FTW.

  • The parsnip purée on this Healthy Shepherd's Pie is so delicious and it’s also Whole30 approved. Bonus!
  • Turkey Stuffed Peppers makes for an easy weeknight meal at its finest.
  • Braised Chicken Provençal with green olives, tomatoes, shallots and plenty of garlic bursts with sunny flavors, but is right at home in the middle of fall.
bowl of easy turkey pumpkin chili topped with cheese, sour cream, fresh cilantro, avocados and pumpkin seeds
bowl of pumpkin curry over rice with fresh cilantro and crushed cashews

Did You Make One of These Fall Dinners?

We hope you love this 40 Best Fall Dinners list. If you make any of these dishes, we’d love to hear about it. Be sure to tag @themodernproper and #themodernproper on Instagram to share where you found the recipe. Happy eating!

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40 Best Fall Dinners

Questions & Reviews

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  • Brittany

    Hi, I am trying to figure out which dish is the bottom right above with the cashews.

    It looks divine.

    That is our slow-cooker chicken pumpkin curry! And it is divine for sure! :) https://themodernproper.com/slow-cooker-chicken-pumpkin-curry

  • Anna

    Wait, the picture looks like grits, but it says it’s polenta... what is the difference?

    There's not a huge difference. Grits are lighter in color.

  • Eugene

    I wonder if I could use an instapot! What do you think?

    For some of them I'm sure!

  • Chuck

    The Pot Braised Kale with Crispy Chicken is really good, but definitely needs to be served with mashed potatoes or rice because the kale ends being salty, so the potatoes balance it out perfectly.

    Glad you liked it Chuck. Potatoes sound like a nice addition, way to add elements that you prefer!

  • Mikayla

    This saved me so much time of meal planning for the next month 😁 Love it!!

    YES!! Win!

  • Taylor

    Curry is such a good way to spice up turkey meatballs. Lamb meatballs in that same sauce would be awesome as well.

    Ohhh. I agree!

  • Abby

    Polenta might be my new fall dinner mvp. And goat cheese? Come on. SOLD 🤤

    Yes!! That is a good way to put it to use!

  • Matt

    That goat cheese polenta looks to die for!

    It is!!